”Are you familiar with the concept of The Hero Ride? The famous one is L’Eroica in Tuscany. I am planning a Scottish version next June 7-8th 2014. Starting in Strathpeffer and going 60 miles mostly offroad through wild uninhabited glens to Ullapool via Croick. There will be water stops and a lunch stop on the lawn at Amat Lodge with fresh Scottish food. The catch is, in true Hero style, you are requested to ride an ancient bike. Wearing tartan,tweeds or retro woolen tops. ‘Bravo’ points will be awarded for the most stylish ensemble of bike and rider for a cool prize to be awarded at the evening Ceilidh in Ullapools’ famous Ceilidh place. Overnight camping or hotel.
There will be a 16 mile Family and Antique bike ride up to Little Garve and back. There is the Victorian Day village festival ongoing in Strathpeffer on the 7th so the short ride riders will be able to enjoy that for the afternoon and then have the option of driving over to Ullapool for the Ceilidh.

BIKES. The suggested cut off date for bikes is 1987. This follows guidelines laid down years ago by other Hero rides. No carbon or aluminium frames(Alan types are Ok ), no suspension except seat posts, no clip less pedals. So old roadsters, old road bikes and early steel MTBs are suggested but to start with these rules will be flexible.

CLOTHING. No Lycra please. Muted toned down retro woollen tops, tartans and tweeds are suggested to keep the Heroic flavour. Raid your local charity shop and ride in Retro style. We are recalling the old days when races were on unmade roads and riders carried spare tubes around their shoulders and goggles on their cloth caps to keep the dust out. Helmets are optional but if taking photos of your mates ask them to take them off and hide them! Leather “hairnet” helmets are popular.

CAMPING. There is a campsite right on the seafront in Ullapool a stones throw from the Ceilidh place. Plenty of other accommodation. Hotels, B&B etc. There will be transport for your camping gear from Strathpeffer.

REGISTRATION. Cost has yet to be finalised but about £50 per head.

If you’re interested contact him at gillotspear AT gmail DOT com

It should be a cracking ride. It’s going through some of the best scenery in the Highlands that you don’t normally see.

I thought I’d better post it here to give you folk time to start fettling your old iron and getting your man to press your tweeds.

Did Leroica this year .No MTBs were allowed and the full event at 205km is a very hard challenge starting and in many cases finishing in the dark with a punishing amount of climbing including a cat 2 on gravel that went on for about 3 miles

Your ride sounds good but it needs to be longer 60 miles isnt a very heroic distance.The odd old bikes on Leroica were only allowed on the two shorter distances of 35 and 75 km bikes like sit up and beg bikes ,postie bikes ,butcher boy bikes .The longer events were for road bikes over 135 and 205 km with an age cut off of 65 !

Leroica also had timed cut off points as in an Audax whereby if you missed a checkpoint you were cut certain legs and rode a shorter route

Should be a laugh! I’ve done the route several times now and whilst it is perhaps not heroic, doing it on an old roadster or similar will be a proper challenge.
Some of it is gravel or knackered old tarmac but lots of it is washed out rocky trail too. It’s a fairly tough 60miles, exposed too, so with a headwind it can be a bit of a ‘mare.